


like a bolt out of the blue

by Jingle



Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: Complicated Relationships, F/M, Fire, Friendship, Magic-Users, Not Beta Read, Secrets, undefined relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-05-04 01:34:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5315264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jingle/pseuds/Jingle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day starts with Mal in the school guidance counselor's office and ends with the Tourney field on fire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	like a bolt out of the blue

**Author's Note:**

> Somewhat inspired by the headcanons of (and written at the blanket request of) scottishdreamergirl and papukadex on tumblr.

Mal had been to Auradon Prep’s guidance counselor a few times, and once she got over the fact that the school’s guidance counselor was a _cricket_ , it wasn’t that bad. Sometimes she was sent because she broke a rule, but more often, it was because she seemed troubled, according to a teacher or Fairy Godmother. Mal couldn’t honestly say she’d opened up to Jiminy yet, but he seemed to respect that she needed her time, and so there was panettone and small talk. It was kind of nice.

 

That said, of course, Mal never bought into one of Jiminy’s mottos: “Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through.” She wasn’t sure she believed in fate at all; it had only been half a year ago she’d learned to believe in love, and that hadn’t exactly… Well, she and Ben were still good friends. That was all that mattered.

 

“You know, I didn’t always believe it, either,” Jiminy pointed out when Mal finally admitted she wasn’t exactly comforted by the familiar words.

 

“Oh yeah?” Mal asked. “What happened, Jim?”

 

Jiminy never corrected her with a “Mr. Cricket”, or even a “Jiminy”. Mal liked that. He did, however, sometimes give her this expectant look – the look that indicated she ought to know the answer to her own question. He was doing so just then, in fact.

 

“Now, Mal, everyone here knows Pinocchio’s story. After all the things I saw… Well, can ya blame me for thinking that fate will intervene when we need it?”

 

Mal didn’t have an honest answer she was willing to give. It wasn’t that she wouldn’t have been blunt with someone else, but she had started a sort of bond with Jiminy, and she knew that in Auradon, a little bit of biting your tongue could go a long way. So she just shrugged.

 

“Well, who knows, Mal. Maybe in time, you’ll see, or maybe you won’t. Who says what’s true for me is true for everyone? But let’s talk about what brought you here today.”

 

That was actually an interesting topic for Mal, because she had _no idea_ why she’d been called down to Jiminy’s office. None of her teachers had been giving her that wary-slash-sympathetic-but-mostly-wary look, and she hadn’t broken a rule she could think of lately – at least, not in an instance where she could have possibly been caught. It was strange, because that didn’t mean she didn’t have something on her mind. She actually did, it was just impossible that the school knew about it.

 

“Okay, yeah. Why am I here?”

  
There was that look again. Jiminy obviously knew _something_. But he couldn’t know what she was so confident he didn’t – right? Well, there was a time for biting one’s tongue and otherwise playing the Auradon game, and there was a time for doing things VK style. Mal sat up straight and tossed her hair in a haughty sort of way, then looked down her nose at Jiminy with a pointed expression.

 

“ _What_?” she asked, and it was a little frightening when she realized she sort of sounded like her mother when she was irritated with someone, just not enough to be rid of them.

 

Jiminy sighed. “Oh, now, Mal, it’s just that someone’s been saying you haven’t been yourself lately. Secretive, I believe was the word.”

 

Mal stiffened in a different way from the menacing manner she had taken on before. Now she was more like a deer caught in headlights, and she just had to hope Jiminy didn’t notice. He looked a bit suspicious, so Mal was quick to try to talk her way out of it. “I don’t know why anyone would say that. Things have been fine.” Her eyes darted to the antique, wooden cookoo clock on the wall. Oh, she was so close to having to leave for her next class… “Really, Jim, I think this is a misunderstanding or something.”

 

“Just remember, Mal: Always let your conscience be your guide.” There was another of Jiminy’s mottos. “Some secrets are for good reasons, but usually they just lead to trouble, understand?”

 

Mal rolled her eyes. “I definitely know the difference. Come on, I lived on the Isle of the Lost. I’ve lead a lifetime of trouble. Why would I want any more?”

 

Jiminy looked unconvinced, but then the class ball rang, and Mal was up and out the door in an instant.

 

Truthfully, what was on Mal’s mind wasn’t anything against the rules – except, perhaps, certain social rules. Mal’s preoccupation had to do with, as cliché and pathetic as it sounded in her mind, a _boy_.

 

But it wasn’t just a _boy_. It was Jay, which made everything infinitely worse. For one thing, they’d been friends for a long time and partners in crime for even longer. Another issue was the matter of Ben’s feelings. Their awkward and prolonged decision to just stay friends had only been a couple of months ago. But the biggest problem was, there was a lot more going on with Jay than Mal starting to feel so funny around him.

 

Jay was developing magical powers. Well, no, that wasn’t true. He’d always had them, apparently, they’d just been very latent. On the Isle, where there was no magic, of course nothing had cropped up, but… Well, Jafar had been a Genie when it all ended.

 

It had been a few days ago that she’d gotten back from her art club meeting to find that Jay had picked the dorm room’s lock and was waiting for her. Evie was still tutoring a few kids in chemistry, so it was just the two of them. Jay sat on Mal’s bed and looked all kinds of wrong, as if he’d just been sick. Mal wouldn’t have really batted an eyelash at Jay showing up in her room like that, anyway, but when he seemed so upset? Yeah, it was the last thing on her mind.

 

“What’s up?”

 

Jay took of his beanie and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Crap, Mal, this is too weird.”

 

“What is? Jay, you’re actually managing to freak me out. So stop it.”

 

Jay took of a fingerless glove and held up his hand. The palm was glowing, a faint shade of red. Mal was by his side in an instant. That definitely looked magical, but of course she didn’t leap to the conclusion that the magic had come from Jay himself. Protectively, she put a hand on Jay’s shoulder.

 

“Did someone do something to you?”

 

“Mal, it was _me_.”

 

Mal stared for a moment, her hand falling back to her side. “What.”

 

“I was freezing to death out there during practice, and you know, I rub my hands together to keep them warm. Like I would do anytime. But then I could see my fingers and my wrists, they started to do this… Thing!” He waved his palm in the air for emphasis. “I did this, Mal. And, I don’t know, my dad _was_ a Genie. What if I’m one, too, or something like one? I mean, I don’t know how all this stuff works, and you seem to have a great handle on your stuff, but _I_ definitely can’t control _this_.”

 

Mal understood immediately that that was the real issue; not Jay having magic, but Jay not being in control. He didn’t do well in such situations; he always at least liked to _believe_ he had the upper hand.

 

“Well, I couldn’t always control my magic, but Jay, are you sure that’s what’s going on?” Mal asked. “I mean… I don’t know a lot about Genies, but aren’t they bound to lamps and wish-granting?” She sneered down at her feet, but some of the frustration in her face was quickly relieved. “Carlos would know. Or Jane. Between the two of them, I’m sure they could help us figure this out.”

 

“No! I don’t want to tell anyone, Mal. I need to figure this all out. It’s just too weird.”

 

Mal tilted her head to the side. “Then why tell me?”

 

Jay shrugged. “Because you know about having magic. Besides, you and I always... It just made sense to tell _you_.”

 

Mal nodded. “Okay, then. Nobody else has to know.”

  
Since then, the two had done research on their own, and it seemed that because Jay had been born on an island with an anti-magical barrier, and – he had always assumed, at least – born to a human mother, he wasn’t a Genie so much as some other kind of Djinn. The details were still fuzzy, but they had been making progress, even if it meant having to dodge Evie and Carlos sometimes.

 

Mal, still on her way to class from Jiminy’s office, froze. Could it be that one of them…? She whipped out her phone and sent out a group text to Evie and Carlos.

 

**Whose bright idea was it?**

 

She didn’t get a text back until after classes were over, which wasn’t necessarily suspicious. Her friends might have had their phones confiscated when they went off in class. The only text she finally did get, however, was from Carlos.

 

**What are you talking about?**

 

Naturally, that wasn’t firm evidence that Carlos _hadn’t_ been the one to report her cagey behavior to Jiminy, but the fact that Evie hadn’t texted her back at all was far more suspicious.

 

 **Nevermind.** She texted back. **If you see Evie, I’m looking for her.**

 

**Wow, what did she do?**

 

**Shut up, Carlos.**

 

It turned out there was no reason to worry about tracking Evie down – she was at her sewing machine when Mal returned to their dorm.

 

“Hey, Mal,” she said, her mind clearly focused on the task at hand.

 

“Did you _seriously_ go to Jiminy because you thought I was keeping a secret from you?”

 

Evie looked up at Mal with a pout. She knew she was caught in the act. “It wasn’t like that. If you have a secret, that’s allowed, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and you always brushed me off.”

 

“Evie, come on, you can trust me!” Mal snapped. “I don’t have any secret; don’t be a fool.”

 

“You sound like your mother when you say – “

 

“I _know_ ,” Mal huffed. “Really, though, Evie, running to the school staff? That’s so _low_!”

 

“I was _worried_ about you! I just wanted to make sure – “

 

“I was okay, yeah, you said that. Then you could have just asked me!”

 

“I tried, but you’ve been _so_ weird lately!” Mal hadn’t made it far from the door since she entered, and then she reached for the doorknob. Evie looked alarmed. “Mal, don’t leave, we can talk – “

 

Like Jiminy, though, she found Mal was quick to leave. Evie did consider going after her, but with Mal, it really was best to let her cool off first. She knew that.

 

Mal wasn’t sure where she was going as she stormed through the dorm halls of Auradon Prep for hours. She just felt angry – betrayed, even. And worst of all was the knowledge that she was a huge hypocrite for feeling so, because she _was_ keeping a secret from Evie, and in doing so, betraying _her_ trust.

 

She was angrily walking past a window when she saw something lighting up the Tourney field. Lights? They couldn’t be still practicing at this hour. No, those were flames. Mal threw the window open and jumped right out – luckily, the automatic locks hadn’t been set for the night yet. Holy crap, the Tourney field was on fire. Who would be so stupid as to do that? Even Chad Charming wouldn’t be playing with fire where his precious Tourney matches were held.

 

The fire wasn’t bad yet – just a small patch near the center of the field. Then Mal saw, backing away from the flames and looking horrified… _Jay_.

 

“What are you doing?” Mal shouted. Jay gave a start and looked at her.

 

“I was just trying to get a handle on it! Come on, help me!”

 

“Help you what? Commit arson?!”

 

“No, Mal, put the damn thing out!”

 

“Oh! Uh, _if it’s all the same, let there be no blame! Snuff out this flame!_ ”

 

A  burst of air came out from around the fire, and as the spell suffocated the flames, soon all that was left was smoke and a charred circle in the ground. Jay was shaking, and Mal didn’t even think before she grabbed his hand.

 

“You scared me.”

 

“Yeah, well I scared me, too. Mal, how am I ever going to - ?”

 

“I guess I’ll have to teach you, but… Just promise me you won’t do anything magical on your own again.” Mal looked up into his eyes. “You really did scare me, I mean… I can’t let anything happen to you.”

 

Jay was tempted to make a sarcastic comment about her sudden sentiment, but instead squeezed her hand. It was a nice feeling, that someone was so concerned. And it wasn’t that his other friends didn’t care about him, it was just that with Mal, things were… Somehow different. They always had been. His father had always leaned on him to go from Mal’s partner in crime to romantic partner, thinking that having a link to Maleficent’s child would benefit him in some way. Isle of the Lost politics, more or less. Back then, the idea had seemed unrealistic at best and revolting at worse, but once they’d actually formed a friendship… Well, sometimes he thought about it. Dating her. Then they’d gone to Auradon and there was Ben, and all that.

 

And yet, sometimes he _still_ thought about it. And right now, as _unnatural_ as it felt to be holding hands with _anyone_ , there was something warm and safe and comforting about it.

 

“Mal?” he asked, looking forward.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I really scared you that badly?”

 

“Well, yeah.”

 

Jay nodded. “Sorry, then. But I have to say… I kind of like you being worried about me. You, specifically.”

 

Mal’s eyes widened. “Oh. Well, that’s good. I kind of like being worried about you. Specifically. I guess we have two secrets, now.”

 

“Secret, huh?” Jay nodded again. He could understand why Mal would want that. He didn’t mind the idea, himself. He’d never been in a relationship before, and bringing others into this… Well, it clearly wasn’t a relationship right now, but it was _something_ , and bringing others into it would just cause trouble and discomfort. “Yeah. I guess we do.”

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, I indeed up feeling the need to get this out all at once before I "lost what I was going for", so to speak. That said, I'm still very happy with how it turned out and hope those who were looking for Jay/Mal fic will be happy with it, too.


End file.
